A date with the skies – My first flight

Of the many poetic dreams, scientific advances and adventurous pursuits – probably the most fascinating aspiration of all is the wish to fly. From AS Hodson’s poetic fable To Fly Like a Bird to the years of ordeal for Wright Brothers – the desire to fly continues to be an exciting endeavor to defy physical bounds and soar closer to the skies.

So there… within my own limited capacity, I didn’t set out to write a poem but used the gift from Wright brothers and took wings to the first ever experience of flying an airplane.

Had not only flown in childhood but also had built some airplanes! All in paper as it were… couldn’t really pilot one. Cut to the airfields of RDU airport…

I took air in Cessna SkyHawk – a sober and humble single propeller, 4 seater aircraft. When the instructor said “I am your co-pilot”, the ever lingering dream of being a Pilot came face to face and smiled. You can mostly tell when your dream smiles at you! On a side note, you can almost always tell when the contrary happens.

The 40 minutes of independent flying over downtown and suburbs of Raleigh were a lesson for precision, possibilities and unmatched thrill.

With wind beneath the wings and clouds gracefully accepting the company, the lush green meadows and lakes of North Carolina revealed the beautiful design of nature like never before. So unlike the sky-diving impulse; this time I stayed on board the plane.

Every once in a while, you need a new dream to redefine challenge – Rajneesh Patil